Cars today

[rhino]

Only last year I bought my wife a tiny car.
It was less than 20k, brand new.

It has
Auto windows
Cruise control
Auto lights
Built in GPS, hands free phone, phone music setup( or whatever it's called)
Auto climate control
And many many other extras

It's a 1.2 litre car and quite comfortable.
It also has no problem at all cruising at 120k, all day
Up hill and down Dale, the only thing that varies is the revs.

Compare tgat to a top of the line Holden in 1980
And it's game over.
My old Commodore struggled up the hill from the Hawksbury river.
This little thing does it without breaking a sweat.

And my new 4x4, is unbelievable.
Cars today vs cars in the old days.

I have seen some amazing changes in the last 20 years
Makes you wonder what we will be seeing in the next 20.

' ................... less than 20k, brand new.

It has
Auto windows
Cruise control
Auto lights
Built in GPS, hands free phone, phone music setup( or whatever it's called)
Auto climate control
And many many other extras ......... '

That is amazing.
I bet it is a nice car to drive, safe, be very fuel efficient and be totally reliable.

It really is.

We average 50 mpg but on a trip to Canberra recently it did 56 mpg

It is a Suzuki, which have quite a good reliability rating
and surprisingly comfortable for a big guy like me.

We went to Sydney a couple of weeks ago when it was 40 Deg C.
Not a problem, it kept us cool and ran like a dream.

Its not a Ferrari, nor is it a luxury car.
But is efficient, functional and comfortable.

For just under 20k I think its a good buy.

My 4x4 cost close to three times that.

And a million times safer than an old car.

Less likely to be involved in an accident, yes. Safer in an accident, no.

[sprintcyclist]

I thought new cars were less likely to be in a crash and safer if in a crash too

[FLEKTARN]

My first car was a hand me down Morris minor 1957 model.
It had a 998cc four cylinder engine, married to a MOWOG manual gearbox 4 speed.
No synchro in first or reverse, and a slipping clutch.
No radio,
No air conditioning, even the heater only worked occasionally.
Zero seat adjustment, you used pillows if you were short.
No blinkers, back in the 70s, you used hand signals legally.
Four wheel drum brakes , no antilock, unless you consider brake fade.
Skinny wheels, some push bike tyres are fatter than the old Morris’s wheels.

Good mileage, around 18 miles per gallon, even today’s v8s get better.

It had an electric fuel pump, which had a tendency to fail on a regular basis.
So Morris, in their infinite wisdom, secured a glass pint bottle to the firewall.
A small tube ran out of it.
When the pump failed, thou pulled the pipe off the pump and attached it to the bottle. Fill the bottle up and it gravity fed the carby.
Surprising how far you can drive on a pint.

And the starter motor had issues as well.
But Morris, not to be beaten by poor quality, fitted a crank starter recess on the motor.
A hole in the radiator allowed access so you simply pushed the crank through the radiator into the receptacle on the crankshaft.
You then brought the engine up to compression stroke and give it a mighty turn.
Or two, or three, or dozen.
It usually, eventually started.

Top speed of 85klm/ hour
But not up hill.
And if the going got really tough, you had to learn to double shuffle into first.

I loved that car.
Drove it for two years.
Starting it was ........interesting.
When the starter worked there was a process.
Turn on the ignition
Wait for the petrol pump to stop ticking.
Pull out the choke.....all the way.
Pump the throttle 5 times, no more, no less.
Pull the starter button

When it kicked, push the choke in half way and pump the throttle a few times.
When it stopped coughing, pull the choke 3/4 And wait until it started to cough again.
Push the choke in all the way, and your off.

Now
Isn’t tgat better than all these modern cars with all their gadgets today.
Where is the fun in just getting in, starting the car, switching on the climate control and radio and driving into the sunset?

We even had GPS in the old days
They were called maps.

What is that brand Morris? Never heard of it. Looks like an old Volvo.

[FLEKTARN]

Cars today are far superior

Superior? Think again. My mother drove a Citroen Grand Picasso C4 from 2007 and the car’s battery died during the winter. Only a specialized mechanic could remove the battery! About ~1 hour of work. Special tools are needed, and you need to remove a thousand plastic covers, plates and bolts.

Then, without a battery, the automatic gearbox level could not be disengaged. The car stayed in Park and it could not be towed. The gearbox lever is electronic, not manual like in some older automatic BMWs, Mercedes-Benz’s and others. It means it needs electricity to disengage from Park or Drive to Neutral! You need a fully working battery to even get the car towed. This is so STUPID.

New cars are made to be serviced only by an “authorized” dealer so he could empty your bank quickly!

[Valkie]

What is that brand Morris? Never heard of it. Looks like an old Volvo.

A Morris was an English vehicle, tiny engine, heavy car.

The gearbox was designed to fit into several other English vehicles.

Remember the MOWOG i wrote in the OP
It stands for
Morris
Oldsmobole
Woolsley
Oxford and MG, the gearbox was a common gearbox to all.

Look up on the internet "Morris Minor"
They came in sedan, station wagons and even panel vans.

They made them in New Zeland right up to the 70s or 80s I think.

[Gordon]

Cars today are far superior

Superior? Think again. My mother drove a Citroen Grand Picasso C4 from 2007 and the car’s battery died during the winter. Only a specialized mechanic could remove the battery! About ~1 hour of work. Special tools are needed, and you need to remove a thousand plastic covers, plates and bolts.

Then, without a battery, the automatic gearbox level could not be disengaged. The car stayed in Park and it could not be towed. The gearbox lever is electronic, not manual like in some older automatic BMWs, Mercedes-Benz’s and others. It means it needs electricity to disengage from Park or Drive to Neutral! You need a fully working battery to even get the car towed. This is so STUPID.

New cars are made to be serviced only by an “authorized” dealer so he could empty your bank quickly!

Citroen. Lol.

[sprintcyclist]

Cars today are far superior

Superior? Think again. My mother drove a Citroen Grand Picasso C4 from 2007 and the car’s battery died during the winter. Only a specialized mechanic could remove the battery! About ~1 hour of work. Special tools are needed, and you need to remove a thousand plastic covers, plates and bolts.

Then, without a battery, the automatic gearbox level could not be disengaged. The car stayed in Park and it could not be towed. The gearbox lever is electronic, not manual like in some older automatic BMWs, Mercedes-Benz’s and others. It means it needs electricity to disengage from Park or Drive to Neutral! You need a fully working battery to even get the car towed. This is so STUPID.

New cars are made to be serviced only by an “authorized” dealer so he could empty your bank quickly!

I heard a similar thing with another 'new' car.

If it lost electrical power entirely, it had to have the autos memory reflashed. Something like that.
To change the battery, the experts put a small 12V supply there while they change the battery over.

yes, not the best design in that area

[FLEKTARN]

Cars today are far superior

Superior? Think again. My mother drove a Citroen Grand Picasso C4 from 2007 and the car’s battery died during the winter. Only a specialized mechanic could remove the battery! About ~1 hour of work. Special tools are needed, and you need to remove a thousand plastic covers, plates and bolts.

Then, without a battery, the automatic gearbox level could not be disengaged. The car stayed in Park and it could not be towed. The gearbox lever is electronic, not manual like in some older automatic BMWs, Mercedes-Benz’s and others. It means it needs electricity to disengage from Park or Drive to Neutral! You need a fully working battery to even get the car towed. This is so STUPID.

New cars are made to be serviced only by an “authorized” dealer so he could empty your bank quickly!

Citroen. Lol.

Yeah...

[FLEKTARN]

Cars today are far superior

Superior? Think again. My mother drove a Citroen Grand Picasso C4 from 2007 and the car’s battery died during the winter. Only a specialized mechanic could remove the battery! About ~1 hour of work. Special tools are needed, and you need to remove a thousand plastic covers, plates and bolts.

Then, without a battery, the automatic gearbox level could not be disengaged. The car stayed in Park and it could not be towed. The gearbox lever is electronic, not manual like in some older automatic BMWs, Mercedes-Benz’s and others. It means it needs electricity to disengage from Park or Drive to Neutral! You need a fully working battery to even get the car towed. This is so STUPID.

New cars are made to be serviced only by an “authorized” dealer so he could empty your bank quickly!

I heard a similar thing with another ‘new’ car.

If it lost electrical power entirely, it had to have the autos memory reflashed. Something like that.
To change the battery, the experts put a small 12V supply there while they change the battery over.

yes, not the best design in that area

Citroen just “puts stuff” inside. No comment.

[rhino]

I thought new cars were less likely to be in a crash and safer if in a crash too

If i wanted to survive a major crash id put my money on an old holden rather than a flimsy tiny buzzbox with plastic panels.